(Clearwisdom.net) Practitioners in Toronto decided to invite Shen Yun to perform for the Autumn Festival celebration this year, and I wanted to share my cultivation experiences of participating in promoting the show over the last few weeks.
Do Not Forget the Treasure of the Fa, "Look within Yourself"
A few days after learning that there would be an Autumn Festival party to promote Shen Yun, I had a chance to talk to a fellow practitioner about some problems that had happened in the past while promoting Shen Yun. Discussing these things, I felt that I was talking about the things that had happened and not about the individuals involved and that I was doing it to improve our promotion of Shen Yun.
The next day as I was studying Teacher's "Fa Teaching at the 2009 Washington DC International Fa Conference" from July 18, 2009, especially the part about Dafa practitioners' mutual cooperation, Teacher said, "Be considerate of others when you do things, and look at yourself when you get into disagreements."
I felt that I had been becoming more and more compassionate. Yet, looking back, I was appalled. The problems that I had seen in other practitioners, such as the competitive mentality, jealousy, laziness, seeking approval and recognition, self validation, and even the lust that I despise, I could now see within myself. When I realized that these were actually my problems, I found myself sweating heavily and full of regret that I hadn't looked inward at myself earlier and had caused an invisible division in the group as a whole.
Teacher arranged for there to be some fellow practitioners in my area that I thought were not up to the standard of the Fa in order to give me a good opportunity to raise my level through cultivation. Although on the surface I was always concerned about their not getting rid of their human notions, in reality, I was the one holding on to human notions and not cultivating inward. My doing things this way gave the old forces an excuse for testing fellow practitioners, making some things impossible for us to do in ordinary society, regardless of what methods and techniques we used. The way it manifested while we were promoting Shen Yun was that we had difficulty selling tickets. Doing things this way--without following Master's teachings and without looking inward--was the reason for the interference in having Shen Yun save people.
A Fundamental Change in Notions
When promoting Shen Yun in the past, I only worked on tasks that fit my abilities and my preferences, and I only considered things from my own point of view. This time, however, in wanting to promote Shen Yun, I started by sincerely studying the Fa and wishing to assimilate to Dafa. Day after day, my thoughts and notions changed and grew in a fundamental way. I volunteered to work wherever I was needed the most.
We haven't had many advertisements lately, and one of our coordinators told us that it was because of financial problems. So, I've been thinking that I should try to get some free advertisements to help fill the gap. Even before this, a practitioner had suggested that I should contact an advertising agency and ask them to support Shen Yun. When promoting Shen Yun in the past, I never worked on trying to get free advertisement support, because I thought that it wasn't my expertise. At that time, when practitioners contacted me about doing that, I said that I would, but I wasn't sure how to go about it and I just told myself, "Maybe I'll try."
This time, whenever I passed the advertising company's billboard, I stopped and sent forth righteous thoughts, thinking that Shen Yun should advertise on this prominent billboard. That's when I decided to contact the advertising company.
When I called the company, the answering machine said that the person I wanted to talk to was on vacation. I didn't know what to do except wait for him. A few days later, I heard that another practitioner had already gotten free advertising support from that company without much difficulty. While I was happy to hear that, I felt disappointed in myself. Looking inward for the cause of my disappointment, I found that it was from concealed jealousy, so I sat down and sent forth righteous thoughts to remove the attachment. Then I thought about what else I could do to help. I asked a fellow practitioner for advice. The practitioner pointed out that I should break away from the conventional way of doing things. I was greatly touched by her pure heart for saving people.
After what I went through this time, maybe Teacher noticed that I continuously cultivated inward. Later, a practitioner called and asked if I would like to contact another advertising company. I gladly accepted, feeling it was help and a hint from Teacher.
The Magic of Dafa and the Power of One Body
It took me less than a week to get full support from this advertising company. It was magical. I went from not knowing who to contact and not knowing what to do, to obtaining their full support. In the process, I experienced a lot of Xinxing tests, hardships, and tribulations, together with hints from our compassionate Teacher. It especially tested my belief in Teacher and trust in the Fa.
I was told that having commercials on a television station would cost three thousand dollars for one month. At that rate, it would cost forty five hundred dollars if we advertised Shen Yun until the end of its run. Instead of being too concerned about that, I had the thought that in this difficult economy, any company offering support to Shen Yun would certainly bring itself good fortune; the more support, the greater the good fortune. At the time, I didn't worry too much about getting their support. Instead, I was hoping they would not lose the opportunity. Therefore, I have been trying to be compassionate over the phone and in my emails.
One of the best resources for getting business support is the Shen Yun website. As long as the person is not interrupted while looking at the website, they will be touched by the benevolence and beauty of Shen Yun.
Because some businesses are very profitable, they often contribute to social causes in the community in order to develop goodwill. Likewise, as long as we're sincere about doing things for the good of those business people, they will be touched and motivated by the beauty of Shen Yun.
Through hard work and complete cooperation, we were able to complete the required documents for the advertisement within 24 hours. This shows how powerful the Fa is when fellow practitioners work together in harmony.
Dafa Practitioners' Words and Deeds Are Good for Promoting Shen Yun
One day after work, I went to be an interpreter for a Chinese lady I had known before. She had a business deal with an English speaking businessman. Because their meeting went well, she wanted to pay me more than we had agreed upon. At that time, I felt that it wasn't easy for her to do business, so I refunded her part of the money. She was very surprised and wondered why I took less than she was willing to pay.
After talking with her for a while, I recommended that she go see Shen Yun. She listened with full attention, looking at the colorful flier and also looking at me off and on. Finally she said, "I can tell by your words and deeds that what you recommend must be very good. I'll buy four of the two hundred dollar tickets. I'll bring my husband, our child, and the English speaking businessman to the show." Before parting, she asked me to remind her a few days prior to the Shen Yun performance, saying that she and her family members would dress up for the show.
After returning home, I read Teacher's "Fa Teaching Given at the NTDTV Meeting" on June 6, 2009:
"None of you realize what the people in today's world once gave of themselves for this affair. Nor have you realized what magnificent beings they once were, plunging down headlong into such a dangerous place, braving the tremendous peril. That fact alone makes them worthy of your saving them and pulling them out."
It's my understanding that every person on earth today has a karmic relationship with Dafa, and Teacher wants to save them. Therefore, we must value any opportunity that connects ordinary people with Dafa practitioners, where, with our good words and deeds, we may be able to promote Shen Yun.
Value Every Day before the Shen Yun Performance, Studying the Fa and Practicing the Exercises
During lunch break on weekdays, a few of us practitioners go to a small garden to practice the exercises. One day, I didn't think I could go because I had a lot of work to do, but I wasn't able to sit still at the computer and finally I decided that I had better go practice the exercises.
When I arrived and was about to start, a lady came by and said, "I've been watching you do the exercises for some time. I'm very interested but was worried that you people might not be willing to talk to me. I was about to leave just before you arrived." I taught her the first and second exercises right there. She said it was God's will that she was able to find us. While learning, she felt very strong energy and wanted to continue to learn.
I understood Teacher's compassionate protection and the hints he gives us, reminding us to always cultivate ourselves in any circumstances. Because of our heavy responsibility to promote Shen Yun, fellow practitioners should remind each other to study the Fa well and practice the exercises in order to promote Shen Yun with a Dafa practitioner's state of mind.
When the Shen Yun performance ended in Toronto last January, people began eagerly looking forward to its return. Because of this, I highly value the opportunity that Teacher gave me to promote Shen Yun. The way I see it, my job is to use my mind and body, that have been purified by Dafa, to lead the people with a karmic relationship into the theater to experience the Shen Yun [Divine] performance so that they can be saved by Master.
